U.S. says planned Russian pipeline would threaten European energy security

WARSAW (Reuters) - The United States sees the planned Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline between Russia and Germany as a threat to Europe’s energy security, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Saturday.

Poland, Ukraine and Baltic states fear the pipeline would increase Europe’s dependence on Russian gas and provide the Kremlin with billions of dollars of additional revenue to finance a further military build-up on European Union’s borders.

“Like Poland, the United States opposes the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. We see it as undermining Europe’s overall energy security and stability,” Tillerson said at a joint news conference with the Polish foreign minister in Warsaw.

German energy groups Uniper and Wintershall, Austria’s OMV, Anglo-Dutch group Shell and France’s Engie have invested in the 1,225 km (760 mile) pipeline, which is to pump more Russian gas via the Baltic Sea.

Poland, which spent four decades under Soviet domination after World War Two, still imports Russian gas to meet about two-thirds of its consumption.

But it has invested in a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal on the Baltic coast to diversify supplies and plans to build a gas link to Norway.

Poland, whose main trade partner is Germany but main security ally Washington, signed in November a long-term deal to buy LNG from the United States.

“We are proud to support Poland’s energy diversification and security,” Tillerson said.